Car and Motorcycle

The Renault Twizy is a two-seater electric car that measures just 2.32-metres long, 1.19-metres wide and 1.46-metres high. It’s classed as a quadricycle, which means it’s part-car, part-motorcycle, and it seats driver and passenger in tandem.

Although the sides are open to the elements, optional scissor doors and zip-on windows provide some protection, while a 31-litre lockable cubby hole that’s designed to take a briefcase.

The Twizy is powered a 17bhp electric motor that produces 57Nm of torque, ensuring silent but nippy performance around town and a top speed of 50mph. It can be fully charged in three and a half hours from a domestic power socket and provides up to 62 miles of emission-free driving.

There’s a choice of three specs, but the list price doesn’t include the lease on the lithium-ion batteries, which makes conventional city cars like the VW up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo seem like a more tempting proposition.

The Renault Twizy couldn’t be easier to drive: just hit the Drive button on the dash, press the throttle and you pull away in silence. The gearbox is operated via push buttons on the dash, and the handbrake is activated by a lever underneath the steering column.

As it carries most of its kerbweight low down between the wheels, the Twizy offers plenty of grip and hardly any body roll, thanks to its stiff suspension. But the firm set-up means the ride is uncomfortable, with even the smallest bumps leading to shudders through the cabin. Big bumps can send you flying out of the seat, while the whining electric drivetrain and constant buffeting mean the Twizy can very quickly become tiresome to drive